That flack was, unsurprisingly, over the top in ways that only commenters on the internet can dish out flack: neither helpful nor conducive to a sober discussion of, uhm, zombie torso statuettes.

Deep Silver apparently received quite a bit of negative feedback on the statue, and has issued this statement:

"We deeply apologise for any offense caused by the Dead Island Riptide 'Zombie Bait Edition,' the collector's edition announced for Europe and Australia. Like many gaming companies, Deep Silver has many offices in different countries, which is why sometimes different versions of Collector's Editions come into being for North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

"For the limited run of the Zombie Bait Edition for Europe and Australia, a decision was made to include a gruesome statue of a zombie torso, which was cut up like many of our fans had done to the undead enemies in the original Dead Island.

"We sincerely regret this choice. We are collecting feedback continuously from the Dead Island community, as well as the international gaming community at large, for ongoing internal meetings with Deep Silver's entire international team today. For now, we want to reiterate to the community, fans and industry how deeply sorry we are, and that we are committed to making sure this will never happen again."

Tassi argues that the statue "is just fodder for those who claim that games A) are way too violent and B) treat women like objects" noting that "there’s a difference between making a splash and embarrassing your entire industry."

He may have a point, especially with regard to the perception of violence in video games.

That being said, I'm not convinced that this reflects poorly on the video game industry itself.

That I personally find it distasteful (and I do) may be beside the point. The fact is, this gruesome bust is very much in keeping with a long history of slasher-horror kitsch and memorabilia that's disgusted and delighted fans and detractors of slasher films and video games for decades.

Sure, it's absolutely tasteless, and borders that uncomfortable line between horror and porn, but it's still very much of a distinct over-the-top style---a style that Deep Silver is certainly emulating with its zombie torso.

Now you could argue that the entire sexualized slasher genre is degrading to women, and that sex and violence should not be mixed so gratuitously, and you'd have a very good point. But I'm not certain at all that it reflects badly on the video game industry as a whole. Zombie and horror movies and video games are a niche of their own, and should be critiqued and judged independently of the film or video game industry writ large.

For my part, I think a better reaction from Deep Silver would have been to release a second bust, this time of a muscled, six-pack boasting and fully dismembered male torso.

If we want equality in video games (and I am a firm believer in sexual equality in video games and elsewhere, and do agree that the industry has a very long ways to go in its treatment and representation of women) than we should ask for---nay demand!---dismembered mannequins of both sexes.